When the star of Fox's hit TV show Bones isn't memorizing terms like "proximal phalanges," she's hanging with sister Zooey Deschanel, hitting the treadmill, and turning costars into vegans

Emily Deschanel is 10 minutes late. Rushing through the door of a West Hollywood café in a short, flowy dress and 4-inch heels, she looks slim, gorgeous, and worried. "I am so sorry," she says. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

Okay, so she's clearly no diva, though given her famous family, that would be no surprise. Her dad is Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, who shot The Right Stuff and Apocalypse Now. Her mom is actress Mary Jo Weir, and her sister is starlet Zooey. But over the past 6 years, Deschanel, 30, has built up a résumé of her own, starting with a small role in the 2002 miniseries Rose Red, which led to bit parts in Cold Mountain and Spider-Man 2 and appearances on a smattering of TV dramas. In 2005, she finally scored the lead in the genuinely hair-raising Boogeyman.

Now she's forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan on Bones, a role that allows her to play a three-dimensional human. "I love that she's a strong, intelligent woman who has flaws," says Deschanel, referring to Brennan's tendency to treat victims like math problems. Lack of emotion isn't an issue in her real life: She's too sensitive to eat a hamburger and has cried over missing a line. Good thing she's toughening up...

I assume those heels aren't leather, because you're a vegan, right?
They're by Stella McCartney. All of her shoes are vegan. I've been a vegan for about 15 years. I went to a pretty liberal high school, and we watched Diet for a New America [a 1987 exposé on how food choices affect health and the environment]. And I just stopped eating and wearing animal products after that.

Did you grow up in one of those no sugar-cereal families?
Totally. No sugar cereal. Hot dogs with no nitrates. We weren't allowed to have McDonald's. When the babysitter came, we could have Kraft macaroni and cheese.

Would you ever throw paint on anyone's fur coat?
No. But I think I can convince anyone to become a vegetarian. [Bones costar] David Boreanaz used to make fun of me for being a vegan, but then I started giving him vegan food to eat, and he loves it. Now he tries to eat vegetarian 1 day a week.

Do you practice yoga too?
I used to, but now I'm so busy that it stresses me out. All I can think the whole time is, "How long am I going to be here?" The last class I took was with my sister, who, by the way, used to be annoyed that I was so into yoga. The teacher was so slow I wanted to strangle her. That's not very Zen!

So how do you manage to fit into all those cute pants you wear on the show?
I have a treadmill, and I work out with my trainer, Julie Diamond, as often as possible. She's so positive. She's never like, "Move your fat butt!" It's more like, "Think of how you'll feel when you're in great shape." And she's right. There are weeks when I don't exercise at all, and I don't feel good.

What motivates you to get on the treadmill?
For me, it always has to be about health. That's why I'm a vegan. Well, I don't even do that for my health entirely, I do it for animals. The point is, there always has to be a better reason than looking good, or I won't stick with it.

Your Bones character strives for perfection. Do you?
Yes, especially when I first started the show. It was a very emotional time for me personally. I had just gone through a breakup, and I had started this big job that demanded a lot of me. After 15-hour days and no sleep, if I didn't know a line I would just break down crying. Now I'm a lot more understanding of myself.

Were you always a perfectionist?
I was a hostess in a restaurant in New York when I was 21, and I was too good of an employee. I was putting most of my energy into that instead of acting. But my father told my sister and me to look at whatever needed to be done and do that job well, no matter what it was.

What else do you and your sister have in common?
We both tend not to pay much attention to what's socially acceptable, and we like to do crazy stuff. We both love to dance and will dance whenever, wherever, whether there's music playing or not. My whole family is very sarcastic and constantly making jokes.

How are you two different?
In seventh grade this kid didn't invite Zooey to his bar mitzvah. And she went right up to him and shouted, "Why didn't you invite me to your bar mitzvah?" I just love that. She is fearless. I would have called my mom crying.

Is your mother a good shoulder to cry on?
She's wonderful and sympathetic, but she's not just going to listen to you complain. Whenever I was considering giving up acting entirely, she'd remind me that life is hard and that the world doesn't owe you anything. You have to work your butt off to get your dreams. She'll make you take action — which I think is a good thing. You can enable people to wallow if you just listen and don't encourage them to change.

You must be pretty fearless too.
Yes, because acting is 99 percent rejection. I really wanted this role in Bones, but I've had to learn not to be too invested so I don't collapse on the floor when something doesn't work out. But I was definitely jumping around my apartment when I got it.

Your career is taking off. How's the personal life?
I have a boyfriend — he's British, a screenwriter, and a vegetarian. We've been together for over a year. We met through friends and would see each other here and there, and later he asked me to coffee.

Wedding bells?
We don't even live together — we've really taken it slow. I think a lot of women can lose themselves in a relationship and forget who they are and what they want. I've definitely done it. I don't make time for myself, or I make little compromises. I think women feel obligated to compromise. That can be a good thing, but often we take it too far. I had a boyfriend who smoked around me all the time. I respected his choice, but I gave up something very important to me — my health. You give and give, and one day you realize you gave up things you need. Or you just never asked for them. I don't want to do that right now. My sister and I just bought a duplex together in West Hollywood, and I think it's time to just have some fun.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Fear of missing out?

Don't miss out anymore!

So This Happened

Get the day’s top news and trending stories so you don’t miss a thing.

Advertising helps us give you all the fitness, health, and weight-loss intel you love—and more.

Enter your email or disable your ad blocker to get access to all of the great content on

Signing Out...

Are you sure you want to log out?

If you are the only person using this device,
there’s no need to log out. Just exit this page
and you won’t have to sign in again. But if
you’re on a public or shared computer, log out
to keep your account secure.